Best way to learn

See above!

Thanks

Mike

I'm not concerned about the time. I am a hard worker too. I considered a tutor for helping me, but maybe I need to improve more first. I feel very natural playing chess. My mind is hard wired for Science, Mathematics, Chemistry, Philosophy.....this game just seems (somehow) to feel natural...like an extension of the logic used in science and math, in a game form. I've never been able to sit still a do anything for more than an hour before becoming bored. I woke up a 7am yesterday and played continuously until 11am.....didn't even notice the time pass. Very strange for me..

I think Utube is a great learning tool.There are hundreds of videos that cover chess openings, and  legendary games. There are also videos by masters and International grandmasters that cover tactics and strategy.

Best of luck,  Andy.

Mike,

The shortcuts. I minored in organic at the University of Florida. Because there were so many molecular formulas involving the same elements (c,h,o,n), I found that labeling molecular formulas, ex. banana, was a much more efficient way of dealing with the field of Organic.

In chess the shortcuts are:

1. Pawn Structure

a. Is the terrain (the mountains, hills and valleys) of the theatre of war.

b. Any plan of attack (*strategy/tactics) that does not conform to the pawn structure is doomed to failure.

c. Almost all openings result in 6 archetypal (characteristic) pawn structures. The reference work on these can be found on pg. 107 of, "Pawn Power In Chess", by Hans Kmoch

2. Chess is Siege Warfare in the form of a board game. Every form of Siege Warfare employes 3 methodologies (*strategies/tactics): restrain, blockade, execute-- the enemy. The reference work on Siege Warfare on the chess board is, "My System", by Aaron Nimzowitsch.

3. 2 Chess Opening Theories

a. Classical Chess Opening Theory - control the center (d4,d5,e4,e5) by occupying it with your pawns and pieces.

b. Hypermodern Chess Opening Theory - control the center by using the power of your pawns and pieces. With this method you do not create targets in center for your opponent to attack. Reference works are, Pawn Power In Chess, and My System.

4. Mental habit to practice- concentrate on all the squares that your pawns and pieces control, while simultaneously being aware indirectly of where those centers of control ( the actual squares where your pawns and pieces are located). In other words, the squares controlled by the imaginary power of your pawns and pieces are fields of force that form walls of restraint and blockade.

*strategy/tactics- all tactics are strategies but not all strategies are tactics. In the same way that all ants are insects but not all insects are ants. Think of strategy as the limbs and branches of a tree, where as tactics are the leaves.

@NaturalProduct: NO, FCO is not very detailed - wait until you see an opening encyclopedia! BUT FCO is very good to look up whatever openings you're playing to at least get a clue and start out on the right track. Use it in conjunction with the Game Explorer here.

I've never read Silman's Endgame Course but endgames are vital to know, ignore any bozos who tell you crap like "all games have openings but not all games have endings" which only demonstrates their ignorance. Many endgame principles are relevant to middlegames and even openings on occasion.

Avoid blitz and bullet games. Play a few online games if you can try to have a constant gameload even if it's only a few games at a time, don't start too many games you should concentrate more time on fewer games rather than less time per game on a lot of games at once.

Check out my blogs on K+P endgames (start with K+P vs K) and Opening Principles

http://blog.chess.com/NimzoRoy/chess-opening-principles

GOOD LUCK!

This seems overly harsh Roy , to label someone a "bozo" for pointing out a fact of chess ?  Do you not agree that all games of chess have an opening but not all reach an ending ?  

To the OP , studying and playing are both necessary to improve and reach your potential in chess but you will have to find what works best for you as there is no " best method " for everyone .  

It may just come down to trial and error, I have watched dozens of videos but learnt very little from them, others who take notes and treat them like course lectures probably find them very useful. 

The Chess Mentor program here is excellent but you need to set it up to do what you want, I wouldn't just set the option for 'Adaptive' or 'Sequential' learning and leave it at that. Use the ratings filter in combination with the area of study you are interested in and work through the lessons at your own pace. I have definitely found this to be the best learning method for myself.

If you are really self motivated books are probably the best option as long as you don't just try to learn passively by reading but actually play through all the examples in whatever book you are using.

If you have experience learning a musical instrument you will find that learning chess is very similar, long periods where you appear to have reached a plateau of ability followed by a breakthrough of understanding which leads you on to the next level. I am only an 1850 OTB player so take my advice for what its worth but I'm sure my experience is fairly common.

@NM Reb: No, calling someone a SOB is harsh - calling them a BOZO is merely descriptive  

"All chess games have openings, all chess games don't have endgames"

Yeah it's a fact of chess - without any context - but when it's used to denigrate end game studies in favor of studying openings/middlegames and ignoring endgames the person who says it is a bozo IMHO, and I've seen many comments at chess.com that have made this opinion (that one should ignore studying endgames) quite clear. BUT I'll  have to admit no one who wrote such an opinion used Bozo the Clown for an avatar... And they apparently don't realize that many endgame principles should be applied in other phases of the game as well esp if it looks like you might end up in an endgame.

Nothing like jumpin in the deep end my friend. Working 60 hours/week is going to make it challenging for you to devote the amount of your personal time necessary to really study chess. You are approaching chess, imho, like you do your main area of expertise (organic chem?) - i.e. academically or more simplistically, ok show me the fundamentals and the right books and give me a few weeks to get it down pat ('Hey I'm smart - I'm going to be a PhD'!).

Well sorry Charlie but that ain't going to get it done with Chess. She's another beast entire. Unless you have a natural aptitude for Chess, it is going to take you a long time to progress from where you are. For one thing, you are coming to Chess as an adult. So your "little gray cells" are already losing some of that natural ability that kids have of not worrying about stuff, just absorbing it in great gulps.

So, relax. You have embarked on a V-E-R-Y  L-O-N-G journey. Just remember: it's not the destination, it's what you do getting there that makes it all worthwhile.

Hope this helps.

You can watch games in progress on chess.com. You can watch real time games between members on "Live Chess". When you go to Live Chess and it asks you what kind of game you want, just skip starting a new game. You will then see options to watch other players games real time. Remember, if you accidently start a game you dont want to play, you can ABORT (not resign) the game as long as you don't make a move (then it won't count against you).

You can also watch Online or Correspondence games being played by other players ... just look at their profiles and in-progress & finished games are right there to be reviewed. Also, in the Online Chess area, there is an option to view the top rated correspondence games currently being played.

And of course the Game Explorer has a massive database of historical games that can be reviewed.

FYI - I vote that you play more than study if time is limited. But you should find the time to read a little material. The Chess.com Study Guides are just awesome.

Bob

Play & analyze your games. However, I don't see how one can take part in tournaments if he works 60h/week :( And casual chess is quite different.

Hi Mike,

I'm not sure getting hooked on chess 1 year before your PhD. is such a good idea, but I'm sure you'll manage

Just look at chess things you enjoy, use Chess Mentor and if you have the opportunity some day, you may want to push the doors of a chess club and make some chess friends, who can help you a lot on your learning path 

I think that turn based chess with 5 days to move or maybe even more would be a good way to learn, especially against a stronger player who's prepared to explain mistakes etc .

Every time I read about the need to study chess theory, pawn formation, openings etc., I think of Mikhail Tal. He probably broke every rule in the book during his legendary career.

The most important thing I believe is to enjoy what you do (including chess).

I believe endgame study is crucial. I believe you may have a natural talent for the game, based on your scores for the lessons you posted. Endgame study will clean up the board a bit, not having to worry so much about all the many pieces. When there are four total pieces on the board, it dries things up a little. Play games with long time controls, or since you sound busy like I am, online chess with 5 days or so per move. I usually don't have time to sit down for an hour to play a game, but I have a few minutes to think about a move and play it. Then, after you lose, analyze them. Get an analysis board of some kind, be it a smaller magnetic set, or a checkbook kind, or whatever. Make sure you like it and can see the pieces clearly, because you are going to spend time with it. I truly believe you can't progress much if all you do is read and play. Make use of the analysis board with grandmaster games, reading the annotations, trying to understand the whys of what they are doing. None of their moves are pointless. If you play any OTB games, record them and go back to the analysis board, and study your losses. Wins are nice, but losses are opportunities for learning. Know why you lost. Know at what point things went from even to better for the opponent. Most of all, have fun, because if you aren't having fun, you'll drop it like a hot rock!! Enjoy!

chess is not always about winning. but enjoying your find you will get better at reading books and when you play otb games you can see how better you are against players who used to beat you. but on chess .com just play for fun because most of the people you will be playing against cheat and use computers.

I played my first game rated at 1400 elo(?) last night against a computer and won in 60 moves and 1h. I guess that's not to great..?

I'm starting to figure out opening traps. I discovered how to trap my opponents kings and bishops using my pawns, bishops, etc. I could tell it was in trouble because it kept making unproductive moves for like 20 min until I got tired of it and took a chance breaking the tension in the middle board. I was happy to be able to see the board that clearly. The chess mentor is great and so are the online videos of GM games. I think I don't "learn a lot" from them, but its been giving me better sight on the board/ instinctively. I figure I should beat the computer in 3 consecutive games before moving to the next level.

Mike

You should play opponents with a pulse and not engines only. 

tfulk wrote:

I believe endgame study is crucial. I believe you may have a natural talent for the game, based on your scores for the lessons you posted. Endgame study will clean up the board a bit, not having to worry so much about all the many pieces. When there are four total pieces on the board, it dries things up a little. Play games with long time controls, or since you sound busy like I am, online chess with 5 days or so per move. I usually don't have time to sit down for an hour to play a game, but I have a few minutes to think about a move and play it. Then, after you lose, analyze them. Get an analysis board of some kind, be it a smaller magnetic set, or a checkbook kind, or whatever. Make sure you like it and can see the pieces clearly, because you are going to spend time with it. I truly believe you can't progress much if all you do is read and play. Make use of the analysis board with grandmaster games, reading the annotations, trying to understand the whys of what they are doing. None of their moves are pointless. If you play any OTB games, record them and go back to the analysis board, and study your losses. Wins are nice, but losses are opportunities for learning. Know why you lost. Know at what point things went from even to better for the opponent. Most of all, have fun, because if you aren't having fun, you'll drop it like a hot rock!! Enjoy!

Hi tfulk:

Thanks for the comments. I think my weak area is in opening moves. I feel very comfortable in the middle and end ( this is all relative to being a beginner of course :) I need to study more openings. Can you tell me where I can find an analysis board?

Reb wrote:

You should play opponents with a pulse and not engines only. 

Hi Reb:

I'm looking for that in my area (humans, face to face). For now it's more about learning for me by studying with this website.